Cynthia Phoel

DeGolyer Library‘s newest iteration of the SMU Literary Festival is headed back to campus this week. The three-day event, running Thursday, March 24-Saturday, March 26, will feature eight different authors and poets offering readings and discussions to the campus in DeGolyer’s reading rooms.

The opening events on Thursday, March 24 begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Stanley Marcus Reading Room, with fiction writer Rosalyn Story and poet Matt Hart as the featured scribes for the night. A 30-minute reception will precede the evening’s activities.

Two series of writers will be featured on Friday, March 25, also taking place in the Stanley Marcus Reading Room. Fiction writers John Pipkin(pictured) and Cynthia Phoel will share readings at 3 p.m., and they will be followed by writer Benjamin Percy and poet Rick Barot at 7 p.m. Another half-hour reception will precede the 7 p.m. events.

A noon luncheon will take place on Saturday, March 26, which will include a discussion with the selected authors and poets. In addition, the winners of this year’s undergraduate writing competition will be announced and honored. The luncheon takes place in Heroy Hall, Room 153. This is the only part of the Lit Fest for which an RSVP is required – send yours by calling 214-768-2945 or e-mailing the SMU Lit Fest at Gmail.

After the luncheon, the Lit Fest’s closing act includes writer Danielle Evans(pictured) and poet C. Dale Young, both of whom will give readings of their work in the Stanley Marcus Reading Room at 2 p.m.

“The SMU Lit Fest has been a great, long running tradition here on campus,” says senior Matthew Anderson, a creative writing major who plans on attending the events. “It doesn’t get as much coverage as it should. The varieties and styles of the writers they bring in make for a great experience, especially if you’re into writing as an art or a craft, or just for fun.”